


The Man in the Fireplace

by florencedrunk



Series: The March 2017 Stucky Challenge [11]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky is a kid, Inspired by Doctor Who, M/M, Steve is Bucky's (not so) imaginary friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 19:37:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10225574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florencedrunk/pseuds/florencedrunk
Summary: If one were to ask any of the inhabitants of Barnes Mansion where the fireplace in Bucky's room came from, they probably wouldn't be able to answer. The fact is that, as far as any of them are concerned, it's always been there.500. broken clock





	

If one were to ask any of the inhabitants of Barnes Mansion where the fireplace in Bucky's room came from, they probably wouldn't be able to answer. The fact is that, as far as any of them are concerned, it's always been there.

James knows that's not the truth, of course, because he saw it appear from thin air with his own two eyes. But, since he was six years old when that happened, his parents didn't believe him when he told them. Actually, they said that he was being silly, that there was no way that a fireplace could appear all by itself, especially one that had been in that exact place for as long as they could remember.

A year passes from the unfortunate apparition, and James is pretty much resigned to accept the presence of the impossible fireplace in his room as well as in his life. Then, one night, just as the golden clock on the mantelpiece strikes midnight, something even more impossible happens: the fireplace starts to talk.

"Hello?" it says. At first, James think he's dreaming, but then, taking into consideration the origin of the object, the possibility of it speaking seems far from improbable. So, he does what every other seven-years-old would have done when finding themselves dealing with a talking object which should not be talking: he responds.

"Who's there?" he asks from under his blanket.

"My name is Steve," the fireplace replies.

Steve sounds like a harmless enough name, so James peers from under the blanket. What he sees is extraordinary: there's a man inside the fireplace — or well, those are not the right words. It's like the inside of the fireplace has become a window, and on the other side of it there's an entire room (which is by itself impossible, since on the other side of that wall there's absolutely nothing). There, crouched on the floor to see through the window, there's a man.

"What's your name?" Steve asks.

If there's something James has learned from his parents, is not to give his own name to strangers. But he knows Steve's name, so it would probably be rude not to tell him anything at all, and his parents also taught him never to be rude.

"Buchanan," he tells the man.

"I'll call you Bucky, is that okay?" Steve asks, and then, without waiting for an answer, "I need a favour, Bucky, you think you can help me?"

"What do you need?"

"I need you to tell me what time it is."

"It's eleven past midnight," James tells him proudly, he just learned how to tell time, and the clock is just there, right above Steve's head.

Steve laughs. "I meant, what year is it?"

"What kind of person doesn't know what year it is?"

"In don't pay much attention, sorry."

"It's 2017," Bucky says, and then, just for good measure, he adds, "The eleventh of March."

"Thank you so much, Bucky," Steve says.

James is about to ask if Steve is the one who put the fireplace in his bedroom, or if he knows who did it, and if whoever it was can take it back, but then there's a noise on the other side of the wall, and the window closes — the fireplace is just a normal fireplace again.

It won't be for many years that he'll see Steve again, the day the clock on the mantelpiece breaks.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have questions or just want to say hi you can find me on [tumblr](http://florencedrunk.tumblr.com).


End file.
